Priceless. There is a big red button like that on the Interislander ferry bridge. On an open day I pressed it and the huge horn echoed around the Harbour. But nothing exciting happened like in the clip of yours JC. Next time?

For a sample of National/Act voters one can always head over to ‘Kiwi’blog for such gems as:

“My local supermarket this morning was full of wogs, dagos and assorted coons.”

“Veitch is buggered now
Every feminist in the country will be crying “crucify” whilst pushing his ex to bring up every spec of dirt, while the anti violence lobby has a perfect example to druel over.
NZ is not the place for a man to make a mistake.”

On the demise of Paul Henry from TVNZ

“Another victory for the socialist thugs. It isn’t enough that they can choose to change channel. Fuck you you thieving, lying looters.”

“…its called a good ol’e lynching at an oak tree. The left do like to see the bastards swing from their necks. Pol Pot was pretty good at it.”

No one’s questioning the need for austerity, but it becomes pointless if the austerity is uneven. If the austerity doesn’t also apply to the top 10%, it becomes socialism for the rich. To name a few examples:

* The Holiday Highway: accident blackspots don’t need $3bn-plus to fix, unless construction industry pork is somehow involved, as is the case in Japan.
* Canterbury irrigation scheme: a $400m farm subsidy by another name – weren’t these abolished in 1986?
* The upcoming $120m Minitrue campaign for the asset sales programme, itself a likely kickback to Wall Street patronage.
* TVNZ7 is going off the air, while NZ On Air approves tax-funded prolefeed marketed as docos, like The GC.
* Problem gambling aside, the SkyCity wheeler-deal sends a clear message: honest hard work is nothing, patronage is everything. Even staunch free-marketeer Fran O’Sullivan agrees.

Finally, off-topic, how did a seasoned finance house like JP Morgan manage to misplace $2bn?

BE: Good summary, DeepRed. By the way, you’d enjoy the movie Margin Call.